Falling Slowly
by Dancergirl228
Summary: Lily Luna never thought she would fall for Scorpius Malfoy, and she spent a lot of time denying it too. Scorpius never thought that his best friend's sister could be so aggravatingly interesting. This is the story of how they fell together, fell apart, and then fell together again.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

Holding tight to her trolley completely weighed down by her new school supplies, Lily Potter took in the familiar surroundings of Kings Cross Station. She was used to the entire routine of taking her two older brothers to the train station, but this year was different. Instead of going home with her parents, she actually got to make the journey on the Hogwarts Express for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It seemed as though she had been waiting her whole life for this moment and now that it was finally here, she had to remember every single detail.

Lily's brothers, James and Albus were a few paces in front of her, getting closer to the column between Platforms 9 and 10 by the second. James, a soon to be fourth year, was running circles around Albus as the latter continued to push his trolley and attempted to ignore the unwanted noise, as they both disappeared through the column. Albus, about to start his third year at Hogwarts, was the first of the Potter and Weasley families to be sorted into Slytherin, so although both families tended to hold a very large grudge against Slytherin as a whole, they decided to get over their assumptions, knowing Albus would succeed in any house. Everyone had done a pretty good job, excepting Uncle Ron, but Aunt Hermione was always there to keep him in check. Lily wasn't at all worried about where she would be placed because the night before she and her parents had had a long talk saying that whatever house she was placed in, she would do well because she was smart and resourceful.

Her father caught up to her as they neared the column to take them to Platform 9 ¾. He smiled and took hold of the trolley as they went through the column together. Even though she had done it three times previously, Lily was never able to get over the fear of not getting through to the Platform after hearing the story of how it happened to her father and Uncle Ron before their second year. Her mother followed close behind, pushing James's school supplies with her.

"James!" Ginny shouted. "You're fourteen years old, I don't understand why you can't push your own trolley. Even Lily is pushing hers by herself."

"I've done this so many times already, Mum. The novelty has worn off." After seeing the look on his mother's face, he quickly ran back to her and took his trolley. He flipped his shaggy black hair out of his face. He had been letting it grow out over the summer, much to his mother's chagrin. She rolled her eyes then gave her eldest son a kiss, as he seemed eager to head off and find his friends. Before he could hurry off completely, his father caught him by his jacket hood and pulled him into a hug.

"Make sure to look after your brother and sister please," Harry said as he let James go.

"Yes, Dad." James said another quick goodbye, then ran off as he spotted one of his friends.

Albus and Lily were standing next to each other trying to see if they could spot any of their cousins. After scanning for a few seconds, they saw three heads of trademark Weasley hair that belonged to Hugo, Rose, and Uncle Ron. Hugo spotted his cousins and took his mother by her arm, dragging her to where his favorite cousin was. Because Hugo and Lily were the youngest of the cousins, they were the best of friends. They had shared so many important moments together as well. They had even promised to open their Hogwarts letters at the same time, so the day that they came in the mail, they went to the Burrow to open them with Grandma Molly, mostly because they knew she would give them sweets.

"Lily! We finally get to go!" Hugo shouted as he grabbed his cousin in a hug.

"I know! Isn't it great? It feels like I'm still dreaming." She patted her cousin's bushy red mane, something she had been doing since they were small. Rose, who was also about to start her third year quickly began chatting with Albus about which electives they were going to take.

"I just wish I could take them all! But Mum told me I'm not allowed to choose Divination. She says it's not a practical class and that I would never use it in the real world," said Rose. Not unlike Albus, Rose hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw. Nobody was surprised, considering how smart she was. In fact, many would say she inherited most of her personality from her mother.

"Now Rosie, listen here. If there's one piece of advice of your mother's that you actually follow, it would be to not take Divination. I don't think she's ever been more right about something before," Ron told his daughter, obviously remembering the horrible time he had had in that class.

The train whistle blew, signaling for the students to hurry up and board the train before it left at eleven o'clock. Albus and Rose said goodbye to their parents and hurried off. Lily and Hugo stayed behind. After all the anticipation of finally getting to go to Hogwarts, they hadn't realized how hard it would be to leave their parents behind.

Ginny pulled Lily into a long hug. When she finally let go, she helped her put her auburn hair in a ponytail so it wouldn't bother her on the train ride.

"Well then. It's time for you to go, Lily Luna. Make sure to write, because we both know your brothers won't. I want to hear all about your first week, especially what house you're sorted into. You'll love it, I promise."

"I'll miss you, Mum," Lily said, trying to hold back her tears. Albus and James hadn't told her it would be so hard to say goodbye. She looked up at her father with her big brown eyes and pulled him in for a hug. He kissed her head, but didn't say anything, so as not to start crying himself. Before Lily could get any further, Ginny fixed her jumper one more time, then sent her on her way. She and Hugo ran hand in hand to board the train as the last whistle blew.

"Hugo! Don't forget to use your night cream!" Aunt Hermione called, as the train began to move. Hugo blushed, hoping not many people had heard his mother's outburst. They waved at their parents from the window as the Hogwarts Express moved out of sight of the station.

"Let's go find somewhere to sit," Hugo suggested, when their parents were finally gone from view.

Many of the compartments were already full, so they decided to look for one or more of their relatives. The first one they spotted was James, but he was sitting with some blond girl and didn't seem as if he needed any extra company. When they had almost reached the back of the train, they ran into Albus who was with one of his friends.

Lily had an inkling of who she thought this friend was. He had his blond hair slicked back, even though it probably would have looked better without any product in it. He looked at Lily with his grey eyes, then a few seconds later averted his eyes to the ground as she kept staring at him.

"Oh there you are. We were looking for you two," Albus told them. "Scorpius, this is my little sister Lily and my cousin Hugo. Lily and Hugo, this is my friend Scorpius Malfoy."

So this was Scorpius Malfoy, Albus's fellow Slytherin and best mate. In Al's first few letters home, he had talked about how he and the Malfoy boy didn't really get along, but in their second year when they were paired with each other for Potions, they realized that they weren't so different after all.

"It's nice to meet you," Scorpius said, extending his hand and flashing a brilliantly white smile. Hugo shook first, with a very nervous grin on his face. Lily shook his hand as well, but only gave a small smile.

"There are some empty compartments further back, if that's what you were looking for. We're going to sit closer to the front," Albus said as he and Scorpius bid the two first years goodbye.

Lily and Hugo followed Albus's advice and found a compartment that only had one other girl in it, Ruby McLaggen. She introduced herself quickly, but went back to reading her book.

"So that was Scorpius Malfoy," Hugo said quietly.

"Why do you say it like that?" Lily looked at her cousin with a confused look on her face.

"Well we've heard so much about him, it's just weird seeing him in person."

"I still find it hard to believe that Albus would be friends with someone like that."

"I don't think Al would be friends with someone who wasn't nice," Hugo assured Lily. After a short pause he added a quick question. "Do you think all of Al's friends are that fit?"

**...**

Scorpius Malfoy absolutely hated it when people stared at him. He didn't enjoy it because he felt as though others were judging him for things his family had done in the past. He tried very hard to be nothing like his family, but people were so quick to judge and lump every bad person from the War together. That's why Scorpius was glad to have found a friend in Albus. He didn't care about what had happened between their families and knew that it had nothing to do with them.

As they were making their way back to the front of the train, after not finding anywhere they really wanted to sit, they ran into two first years who also happened to be Al's relatives.

"Oh there you are. We were looking for you two," Albus told them. "Scorpius, this is my little sister Lily and my cousin Hugo. Lily and Hugo, this is my friend Scorpius Malfoy."

"It's nice to meet you." Scorpius extended his hand and waited for one of them to shake it. Hugo shook first. Scorpius noticed the weird look on his face, but didn't know what to make of it. Lily stared at him for a minute longer, then finally took his outstretched hand and half-smiled. For a moment nobody spoke and Scorpius decided it was best to look at the ground so long as Albus's little sister decided she wanted to have a staring contest.

"There are some empty compartments further back, if that's what you were looking for. We're going to sit closer to the front," Albus said, finally breaking the awkward silence. He ushered his friend away from his relatives as quickly as possible.

"Well that was awkward," Scorpius announced once they had found a place to sit.

"They're still kids. And they're nervous about interacting with people besides our family."

"Yeah, but I'm sure your sister doesn't stare at just anyone like that. What have you said to make her dislike me already?"

"Don't worry about Lily, she stares at everyone like that. She looked at James and me like that for years when she was little. She's done it to everyone in our family actually, even Hugo for a while."

"Do you see your extended family often?"

"Besides Hogwarts, yeah. Whenever we're home we always have family dinner twice a month at the Burrow. Grandma Molly insists, unless you have a damn good excuse for missing."

Scorpius didn't know what to say to that. He envied Albus for his enormous family and the fact that they were all pretty close. He loved his parents dearly, and they loved him, but there were times when Scorpius was just incredibly lonely. He didn't like being an only child and not having much family still living. Maybe that's the reason he liked Albus so much. He just hoped he never did anything to mess it up.

…

Although James and Albus had told her all about the Great Hall, she had no idea that it would be even more beautiful and grand than they had told her. As Neville, or Professor Longbottom as she was going to have to get used to calling him, led the first years into the Great Hall to be sorted, every single one of them stared up at the beautifully charmed ceiling. Hugo grabbed onto Lily's hand. Even though the setting was beautiful, he was still nervous about the sorting.

Once they got to the front of the Great Hall, there laid the famed Sorting Hat on top of a rickety stool. Lily had no idea what words were coming out of Professor Longbottom's mouth, but figured they were something along the lines of the different houses. Then he started calling names. She didn't really start listening until he had called up Shirley Creevey. The small blond girl walked quickly up the steps to sit on the stool. The hat had barely touched her head before it shouted, "_GRYFFINDOR!_"

The Gryffindor table shouted, ecstatic to welcome their new member. Lily zoned out once again, not really caring where anyone was placed until she had been.

"Potter, Lily!" Neville finally called out her name. She squeezed Hugo's hand one last time as he gave her a nervous smile and she hurried up the stairs. As she sat down on the stool, she looked out into the crowd to spot the members of her family who had already been sorted. At the Gryffindor table were James, Fred, and Roxanne. Louis and Rose were at the Ravenclaw table, Lucy was at the Hufflepuff table, and of course Albus was at the Slytherin table. He gave her a reassuring nod and a thumbs up as Neville put the Sorting Hat on her head.

"_Well, well, well,_" the Sorting Hat said quietly. "_The littlest Potter. Thank goodness, I've grown quite tired of your family. You're all the same. Well, not that brother of yours. More ambitious than the rest. You seem to be quite similar to him. And frankly, I'm tired of placing your family in Gryffindor, so better be SLYTHERIN!_"

The Slytherin table erupted in cheers as Lily jumped off the stool to join her brother, who made space on the bench next to him. Before Hugo was sorted, another girl named Isabelle Reynolds was sorted into Slytherin. She came and sat down next to Lily. Finally, Neville called Hugo's name and he walked up to the stool with the same nervous look that had been on his face all day.

The Sorting Hat wasn't on his head for very long before it called out, "_HUFFLEPUFF!_" The Hufflepuffs cheered, as Hugo looked quite relieved and hurried over to Lucy, who welcomed him with a big hug. Lily thought to herself that the Sorting Hat had kept true to its word on not putting anymore of their family in Gryffindor. But as long as everyone was happy, that was all that really mattered to her. And Hugo finally looked excited for the first time since they had boarded the train and that made Lily excited. She was able to enjoy the start of term feast in good spirits.

**...**

"I'm glad you're here Lily! You'll like Slytherin. The dormitories don't get super light in the morning, so I'm sure you'll appreciate that," Albus told her, filling his plate with more potatoes. He took a few more bites of his food and then continued to talk.

"And if you're ever in need of help with homework, Scorpius is really good at everything, especially Charms!" At the mention of his name, Scorpius perked up, then realized what had been offered. He kicked Albus under the table. What in the world had possessed his friend to tell a first year that he would tutor her whenever she needed it? That's not what friends were for.

After the feast, once they had made it to their dormitory, Scorpius decided to question his friend about it.

"What the hell, Albus?"

"What? What did I do? I should be the one asking what the hell, since you kicked me at dinner!"

"Why would you tell your sister that I can give her help with her classes? I don't want to help people!"

"Scorpius, that's exactly the type of attitude that my entire family expects from you."

Scorpius looked at his friend, not really sure what he was getting at. "What do you mean?"

"I want my family to see that you're not just another Malfoy or that you live up to the reasons they don't like your father. Because you're better than that and I thought maybe tutoring Lily would help. I just want them to like you, Scorpius."

Scorpius knew that Albus was right. It was probably very hard for his family to accept that the two of them were friends, especially after everything their families had been through during the War. Although he wished they could see past all of that, he knew that it must be hard for them. And he didn't want to mess up what was probably the best friendship he had ever had.

"Alright! I'll help her when she needs it. But I'm doing it for you."

Albus grinned and threw the sock he had just taken off at Scorpius for no apparent reason. Scorpius hadn't had many friends growing up, so even though it seemed like an odd thing to do, he took off one of his socks and threw it back. _No_, he thought to himself, _normal people definitely don't do this_.


	2. New Developments

**A/N: Thanks to everyone who followed and favorited! I'm sorry it took me a bit to update, but I got busier than expected. It seems this summer I have a bit more of a life than usual. Anyway, this probably isn't the most exciting chapter and definitely isn't the best, but it's important to the plot, so I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: New Developments**

Over the Christmas holiday during Scorpius's fourth year, he made his first visit to the Potter house. The Malfoys were throwing a New Year's party that he didn't want to attend, so Albus made sure to invite him to sleep over in order to avoid any unpleasant encounters with his father's incredibly boring Ministry friends.

Scorpius had been nervous about meeting Al's parents, but once he arrived at their home in Godric's Hollow, he realized that he had been worried for nothing. Mr. and Mrs. Potter seemed very glad to meet him, even though their smiles at first seemed a little bit forced. Then again, that was nothing Scorpius wasn't used to.

He found that he really enjoyed being at Al's house. Mr. Potter had brought home a pizza for dinner, something Scorpius had never tried before. It was far too greasy to meet his mother's approval for an appropriately bland food and since there was no silverware involved, his father would have hated it. These things just made him love it even more. After dinner, Albus and James wanted to play on something called an Xbox, which was a Muggle toy. Scorpius found that he wasn't very good at video games after a few tries at it and didn't feel like playing anymore. He and Albus went upstairs to do something a little less Muggle: play Exploding Snap.

"You sure do have a lot of Muggle stuff around your house," Scorpius remarked as Albus got out his deck of cards.

"Yeah. Grandpa Arthur is always bringing us stuff. And Dad likes to have things that were familiar to him when he was growing up. He especially likes the Xbox, because he wasn't allowed to play with the PlayStation that his cousin Dudley had when they were younger."

"Your house is so exciting. All my parents ever let me do is read books. But they're not even good books, they're just really old history books that I don't care about. Do you think your parents would mind if I moved in?"

Albus laughed. "I think that's pushing it, considering they just met you today. But they seem to like you, so whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

"Well obviously my distinctive charm won them over. As I'm hoping it'll win over the rest of your family. Especially Rose."

…

Albus froze as he heard his cousin's name escape his best friend's mouth. He also missed the pair that would have won him the Exploding Snap game. Had Scorpius really just said he wanted to win over Rose?

"I'm sorry, did you say especially Rose?" Albus asked, making sure he wasn't losing his mind.

Scorpius blushed. "Well, yeah. She seems to like me the least. I've tried talking to her while we're at school, and she kind of just brushes me off. Even Hugo gets more excited to see me when I run into him."

"Scorpius do you fancy my cousin?" Albus watched as his friend turned even redder than before. "Well shit, man. You're not supposed to go around fancying my family!"

"I'm sorry, Al! I can't help it. But it doesn't really matter when she won't even look in my direction."

Albus didn't know what to think. He had never thought that he would be in a situation where one of his friends would like a member of his family. But then again, he shouldn't be completely surprised. His family was such a big deal at Hogwarts so he should actually feel kind of silly for not thinking something like this was bound to happen. But he had to think about more than just his friend's happiness. First of all, Scorpius was right. Rose didn't give him the time of day, probably because of Uncle Ron. Right before first year, he had pointed Scorpius out at the train station and told her to steer clear of him. And Rose actually listened to what her parents told her. Al didn't think that was very fair, considering how nice his best friend had turned out to be.

With a long sigh Albus decides to give in, if only for the sake of making Scorpius more well-liked within his family.

"Alright," he said.

"Alright what?" Scorpius asked, perking up since Al had finally said something.

"Rose and Hugo always come over for Quidditch on New Year's Day. When they get here, I'll introduce you to her."

"Really? Are you sure, Al?"

"Well I can't promise she's going to fancy you back, but she'll at least have to talk to you. That's better than her not looking in your direction."

"Thanks, man. You're the best!" Scorpius picked up the Exploding Snap cards so they could play another game.

Albus wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing. Although he was sure that Rose would probably never fancy Scorpius and that Scorpius would eventually get over Rose, there was always the off chance that he was completely wrong. How would Uncle Ron feel if he knew his own nephew set up his only daughter with a Malfoy? He figured he would have to cross that bridge once he got there, but then again he didn't think that would ever be a problem. If Scorpius and Rose ever did date, it wouldn't be for long. They weren't right for each other. Scorpius could be very ostentatious sometimes, which was the exact opposite of Rose, who cared more about her books than her looks. It would definitely be a fleeting romance, if it even turned into one at all. Al finally put his concentration back on the Exploding Snap game, realizing he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

…

Lily had gone upstairs to get her mother a book she had asked for when she was made privy to a very interesting conversation. She was on her way to her mother's study when she walked by Al's room where he and Scorpius were talking.

"Well obviously my distinctive charm won them over. As I'm hoping it'll win over the rest of your family. Especially Rose."

At the mention of her older cousin's name, Lily stopped in her tracks. She backed up and sat by Al's bedroom door, curious to see where the conversation would go.

"I'm sorry, did you say especially Rose?" Albus asked. He sounded just as confused as Lily felt.

"Well, yeah. She seems to like me the least. I've tried talking to her while we're at school, and she kind of just brushes me off. Even Hugo gets more excited to see me when I run into him."

"Scorpius do you fancy my cousin?" There was a brief pause. "Well shit, man. You're not supposed to go around fancying my family!"

Scorpius fancied Rose? Was the world about to come to an end? Lily didn't understand how Scorpius could fancy someone who was the exact opposite of himself. What did he see in Rose? In Lily's opinion Rose wasn't all that great. Sure, she was smart and fairly pretty, but she was a lot like Aunt Hermione and didn't really seem to be her own person. Lost in thought, Lily only heard the end of their conversation.

"Rose and Hugo always come over for Quidditch on New Year's Day. When they get here, I'll introduce you to her," Albus said.

Lily could not believe her ears. Had Al really just said he would set Scorpius up with Rose? Uncle Ron would never forgive him. She got up quietly from her seated position and hurried to her mother's study. She grabbed the _Quidditch Through the Ages_ book that her mother had been looking for and hurried back downstairs. She must have had an odd look on her face, because both of her parents looked slightly concerned.

"Is there something the matter, Lils?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed in a look of concern.

Lily was quiet for a moment. She didn't want to tell her parents that Albus was going to set Scorpius up with Rose, but at the same time the whole idea of it shocked and confused her.

"Nothing's particularly wrong, Daddy. I'm just confused."

"About what, sweetie?" Ginny asked, patting an unoccupied chair at the kitchen table. Lily gladly sat down.

"Well, I just don't understand why people fancy other people. It doesn't make sense."

Her parents exchanged a glance and then looked back at her.

"You're exactly right, Lily. It doesn't make sense, but that's the beauty of it," Harry answered.

"I still don't get it!" Everything had an explanation, even something as confusing as fancying someone.

"Well you're never going to, so don't keep yourself up at night trying to figure it out. You can't choose who you fancy and you can't choose who fancies you. It just happens," Ginny said. "Why do you ask? Do you fancy someone, Lily?"

"Of course not! I'm only twelve. What business do I have fancying someone?" At that, Lily got up from the table and hurried off to her room.

Even though her parents seemed to think that there was no explanation for fancying someone, Lily was determined to figure one out. Maybe Hugo would be able to help her when he came over tomorrow. But even with help, she knew she was probably a long way's away from figuring it out.

…

Hugo was excited to visit his cousins on New Year's Day. He saw all of his cousins fairly regularly because the whole family was very close and Grandma Molly hated it when someone missed dinner at the Burrow. But seeing as Lily was more of a best friend than a cousin, he was always excited to visit with her. The main reason for the New Year's Day visit was for the Quidditch game, but Hugo wasn't very good at Quidditch so it wasn't always fun for him. He enjoyed after the game, when he and Lily sat and just talked over a cup of hot chocolate in the corner of the Potters' living room.

The game of Quidditch was modified, as there weren't enough players for two teams. Hugo was on a team with Lily, Al, and Uncle Harry. The other team consisted of his father, Aunt Ginny, James, and Rose. His mother was the referee, as she wasn't very fond of flying. Hugo's team usually lost, because Uncle Harry just couldn't keep up with James in order to catch the Snitch. It didn't really matter though, because everyone always forgot the score. It was more about the fun anyways.

Hugo and his family arrived by Floo Network at around ten in the morning. Lily was the first to greet Hugo as he stepped out of the fireplace.

"I have something important to tell you," she whispered to him.

"Why are we whispering?" Hugo was confused by Lily's secrecy, but didn't have much time to think about it because Scorpius Malfoy had walked into the room at that exact same moment. It was then that Hugo began to quietly panic.

"What's Scorpius doing here?" he asked Lily, not sure why he was feeling so frantic.

"He's Al's friend, remember? He spent the night and he's leaving this afternoon. That's actually part of what I had to tell you." Lily grabbed Hugo's hand and pulled him upstairs to her bedroom where she promptly shut the door.

"I was going to wait until after Quidditch to tell you, but I guess I should just tell you now. Scorpius fancies Rose," Lily said as she sat down on her bed.

"Rose? As in, my sister Rose?" Hugo was in a state of shock.

"Yes, your sister Rose. What other Rose is there? And that's not the only problem. Al promised Scorpius that he would get Rose to talk to him so he could set them up!"

"Dad'll kill Albus if he finds that out." Although the Weasleys had laid down their arms against the Malfoy family, he didn't think his father would take kindly to one dating his daughter. "What's Scorpius thinking, fancying my sister?"

"I talked to mum and dad about it last night and they said that you can't control who you fancy. It just happens. I don't think that makes sense."

Hugo sat quietly, not sure what to think. He figured maybe Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry had an inkling of what love was. And it sort of made sense that you can't choose who you fancy. Otherwise, he didn't think his parents would be together. He didn't want Scorpius to fancy his sister, but he didn't understand why he was getting so worked up about it. It's not like he wanted Scorpius to fancy him. Scorpius was a boy, that wasn't how fancying worked. Hugo realized he had been quiet for too long as Lily smacked him upside the head.

"We have to go back downstairs. Everyone's going to wonder where we went." Lily forcibly pulled him off of the bed and they hurried back to the living room with the rest of their family.

Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry were getting out the brooms while his parents were putting up the goalposts outside and James was looking for the balls. Over by the fireplace, Hugo and Lily watched as Scorpius walked up to Albus and Rose. They could just make out the conversation.

"Oh Rose, this is my friend, Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, this is my cousin Rose," Albus said as he introduced the two.

"It's nice to meet you," Scorpius said, flashing his perfect smile and extending his hand to Rose. Almost exactly as he had met Hugo last year.

"It's nice to meet you, Scorpius." Rose smiled as she took Scorpius's hand, looking a bit happier than Hugo thought she should.

Hugo didn't know what the feeling was in the pit of his stomach, but he wanted so badly for it to go away. He looked over at Lily, who wore a look of defeat. She sighed and then walked away to help James get the balls out of the closet. Hugo went to sit outside and watch his parents put up the goalposts. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't really feel like playing Quidditch that day.


	3. An Awkward Encounter

**A/N: So chapter 3 is finally here! I'm sorry it took so long, but the move to college was stressful and this was the first time I've had free time in a while. I wanted to get this chapter out before my classes start tomorrow. This chapter is not very long and it's definitely not the best, but things get more exciting soon I promise! Once I get a routine going, I will try and find time to write more. Thanks for your follows and favorites, but it would be really great to hear some feedback as well, so please leave a review! I'd love to read them and see what people think!**

**Chapter 3: An Awkward Encounter**

Lily had been anticipating her first visit to Hogsmeade ever since James came home at Christmas his third year and told her all about the wonderful wizarding village. She couldn't wait to spend all of her money at Honeyduke's or have a butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks. Her first Hogsmeade weekend came in early October of her third year. Tommy Nott, Slytherin's Quidditch captain, had called a very short practice right after breakfast, knowing that people would want to spend most of the day shopping and hanging out with their friends. When practice ended, Lily was the first out of the changing rooms, eager to make her way to Hogsmeade. Hugo was waiting for her at the gate and they turned in their permission slips and hurried off together.

This being their first Hogsmeade weekend, many third years had spent the weeks before asking around to find dates to spend the day with. Lily had received quite a few invitations, but she turned them down, as she had already promised to spend the day with her cousin. A few girls had even asked Hugo, but he quickly and awkwardly declined. None of their invitations were incredibly savory anyways.

Lily knew that they had to steer clear of Madam Puddifoot's, because not only would an incredible amount of their classmates be there, but Albus had told her that James had invited a girl there. The last thing Lily wanted to do on her first Hogsmeade trip was watch her older brother snog someone. Hugo held the door as they stepped into The Three Broomsticks. They found a table for two and ordered their butterbeers.

"We have to go to Zonko's before we go back to school," Hugo said as he took a sip of his drink. "I promised my dad I would scope out the competition for Uncle George."

"I thought Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was doing well," Lily answered.

"Oh it is. Uncle George has so many ideas. I think he just wants to make sure nobody is copying him."

"That does sound like him."

A few minutes later, the door to the pub opened. Lily had her back to the door and didn't see who came in, but Hugo's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Oh bloody hell!" Hugo shouted. He picked up his drink and quickly downed it.

"Slow down, Hugo! What's the matter with you?"

"Look who's just come in."

Lily turned around and looked in the direction that her cousin was pointing. Sitting in a booth nearby were Rose and Scorpius. Now she understood why Hugo was so upset. Rose and Scorpius had been dating for three months and nobody was a huge fan of the relationship. Lily and James had made a bet to see how long they would last. She saw Scorpius go up to the bar to order drinks.

"Do you want a refill?" she asked Hugo.

"I want to leave," he retorted, crossing his arms and huffing.

"Well I'm still thirsty so get comfortable." She grabbed her mug and headed over to the bar.

"Could I have another one, please?" Lily asked the bartender. The woman behind the counter took her mug and began preparing her drink as she handed two butterbeers to Scorpius.

"Fancy seeing you here, Potter," Scorpius said in greeting.

"I'm a third year now, Malfoy. I gather you'll be seeing a lot of me in Hogsmeade."

"I guess so. How've you been?"

"You mean since this morning when we had Quidditch practice? Just peachy, thanks. How's Rose?"

Scorpius blushed. "She's fine. We're fine. Thanks for asking."

"Not a problem. You know, Rose tends to be impatient, one of the very few traits she inherited from her father, so you should probably get back with those drinks. Wouldn't want her to think there's something going on between us," Lily added with a wink, which made Scorpius laugh.

"Of course not. It was nice talking to you, Lils. I'll see you tomorrow for our Charms session. Is Hugo coming too?"

"Yeah, we'll both be there!" The bartender gave Lily her drink, and she hurried back to Hugo who was still pouting.

"Please drink that quickly. I want to get out of here."

"What's the rush Hugo?"

"I don't really want to watch Scorpius snog my sister. So we should leave before that happens."

"Okay, calm down. We'll leave soon!" Lily rolled her eyes as she began to drink her second butterbeer.

…

Scorpius returned to the booth where his girlfriend was sitting, carrying their drinks. He sat down across from her and took a sip of his butterbeer.

"I didn't know you and Lily were so close," Rose commented.

"I wouldn't call us close. That's really just Al and me. But we're on the Quidditch team together and I'm her Charms tutor. I help your brother out too, sometimes."

As Scorpius and Rose were talking, they watched as Lily and Hugo got up from their table to leave the pub. Lily gave a big smile and waved as she passed by their booth, whereas Hugo looked very uncomfortable and shuffled along after her.

"You should be careful, Scor," Rose said after they left. "I think she has a bit of a crush on you."

"Lily? You're kidding right? If anything, Hugo has a crush on me."

"Hugo's not gay, Scorpius." Rose rolled her eyes, seeing as this was a conversation they had had before.

"And you're absolutely positive about that?" He saw the look in his girlfriend's eyes and knew that he should probably change the subject. "I'm sorry, I won't bring it up again. But honestly, Lily is the least of your worries. You have nothing to be jealous of."

"Why would I be jealous of my thirteen year old cousin?" Rose asked, slightly confused. She took a sip of her butterbeer, leaving a little bit on her lip.

"Exactly my point. You have no reason to be jealous. I'm very good looking, so you can't get upset when people fancy me." Scorpius leaned over the table to kiss her, mostly because he wanted the leftover butterbeer, but also because he enjoyed kissing Rose. At the moment, Rose was pretending to not enjoy kissing him, probably because of his previous comment.

He hadn't expected much to come out of Albus introducing the two of them, but Rose had seemed just as smitten as he had. This came as a surprise to both Scorpius and Al. After their initial encounter, they started to hang out more often. They would study together in the library and they eventually started going to Hogsmeade together. Scorpius had been very afraid to make the first move, still not completely believing that Rose fancied him. They had been sitting together by the Black Lake right before the end of term last year, and Rose suddenly leaned over and kissed him. They didn't officially start dating until July, but Scorpius was glad that it had happened.

"I know you're good looking, Scorpius. And I'm not going to be jealous, because I have absolutely no reason to be," Rose answered. She leaned over the table to kiss him again.

"I'm glad you have faith in me. Are you finished with your drink, we can go back to school and snog for a bit."

At that, Rose upturned her butterbeer and pulled Scorpius up from the table. He wrapped his arm around her waist, and they left the pub quickly, wanting to get back to school as quickly as possible. Scorpius was enjoying every minute that he spent with Rose. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and he never wanted their time together to end.

…

Hugo was glad to be rid of his sister and her boyfriend as he and Lily finally escaped The Three Broomsticks. He wanted to spend the rest of his Hogsmeade day not living in fear of watching couples be affectionate with each other. Public displays of affection had always made him uncomfortable, but he had never exactly been sure why. He was glad to hang out with his cousin and just walk around. After checking out Zonko's to make sure Uncle George wasn't getting ripped off, the pair decided to end their day at Honeyduke's.

"What were you and Scorpius talking about over at the bar?" Hugo asked as they walked into the candy store.

Lily glanced over at Hugo, with a confused look on her face. "Nothing, really. He just asked if we were still on for studying tomorrow. I told him you were coming."

"I don't know if I want to come," Hugo groaned.

"What are you talking about? You really enjoyed it when Scorpius tutored us last year."

"Well this year's different. For one thing, he's been snogging my sister and that makes me feel weird. And last week when we were studying, you seemed a little too distracted."

"I wasn't distracted, Hugo! I was paying plenty of attention." Lily rolled her eyes as she picked up two chocolate frogs and a box of chocolate cauldrons.

"You were paying plenty of bloody attention to Scorpius," Hugo muttered under his breath. Lily turned around.

"What did you say?" She was fuming, and Hugo instantly regretted the decision to open his mouth. He always seemed to forget that Lily had amazing hearing.

"I didn't say anything!"

"Don't lie to me Hugo, I know you said something!"

"I'm afraid to tell you. You'll hit me," Hugo whined, not wanting to upset her anymore.

"I promise I won't hurt you. Just tell me what you said."

"I said you were paying plenty of bloody attention to Scorpius." At that, Lily quickly slapped his arm. "Bloody hell, you said you wouldn't do that!"

"Well I didn't realize how stupid what you had said was. What do you mean I was paying too much attention to Scorpius?"

"You wouldn't stop staring at him. And when he said something that he meant to be a joke, you laughed almost as soon as he finished saying it. Scorpius isn't all that funny. You never used to laugh at him last year."

"You're being stupid, Hugo." Lily began to walk away, heading up front to the register. Hugo went to follow her.

"But see, I don't think I am. I think you fancy Scorpius, and you just don't want to admit it. I understand that. He's dating Rose and he's your brother's best mate."

"I don't fancy him Hugo!" Lily whispered quietly. "Talk a little louder, the whole store will hear you."

"But if you don't fancy him, then why do you care if anyone hears?" Lily went silent. After she paid for her items, she slapped Hugo once again on the arm.

"You have got to find a better way to release your anger," Hugo said, rubbing his arm as they left the candy store.

"Stop saying stupid things and maybe I'll consider it."

"If you feel weird about admitting it to me about it, just know I would never tell Rose, Al, or Scorpius. Your secret is safe with me."

"That would be jolly well and good if there actually were a secret to keep. I don't fancy Scorpius, Hugo. I never have and I'm absolutely positive I never will." At that, Lily began walking back to school.

Hugo followed silently after her. He knew very well how this worked. Whenever he had said something to upset Lily in the past, she would give him the silent treatment. Sometimes he wasn't allowed to walk next to her. He figured this was probably one of those times. All Hugo wanted to understand was why she wouldn't just admit that she fancied Scorpius. It certainly would have been much easier than just sitting around and pretending it wasn't true. Then again, he couldn't really talk considering the fact that he never liked to admit when he fancied someone. Not wanting to cause anymore trouble, he decided to leave the matter alone, knowing that Lily most definitely did not want the subject to be brought up again.

…

Lily began quickly walking back to school, Hugo following a short distance behind her. He knew better than to get too close when she was mad at him. All she had wanted to do was have a pleasant day in Hogsmeade, but Hugo had been quick to ruin her fun by telling her that she fancied Scorpius. Lily still didn't understand why anyone would fancy Scorpius Malfoy. He didn't seem all that desirable in her opinion. She still didn't understand what Rose saw in him, or Albus for that matter.

Since Hugo was sentenced to the silent treatment, Lily was able to lose herself in her thoughts. Why exactly did Rose like Scorpius so much? He was certainly good looking, there was no denying that. Much to Lily's surprise he had been very helpful and nice, especially during their tutoring sessions. But there were other times when he could be extremely arrogant.

He was always at his worst on the Quidditch pitch. It was Lily's second year playing for the Slytherin Quidditch team as a Chaser. Scorpius was the best Seeker at Hogwarts, so he definitely had reason to be cocky, but sometimes he took it a bit too far. If it started to get too bad, Al would sometimes purposely whack a Bludger in his direction. But that was only some of the time. He was usually very sweet. When he saw Lily in the corridors before classes, he would smile at her and he was always good company for a game of Exploding Snap in the common room. In actuality, Lily understood why Rose was with him. All things considered, he really wasn't all that bad. There were certainly worse people Rose could have decided to date.

After having Scorpius on her brain for a few minutes, Lily realized that he was almost always in the back of her mind. Why had she never noticed that before? Could Hugo be right? Did she really fancy Scorpius? She stopped walking and stood where she was, letting Hugo catch up to her.

"Are you alright Lily?" he asked as he stopped to stand next to her.

"I'm fine. You're not supposed to be talking to me right now," she answered quickly, upset that she had let her guard slip.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about Hugo? As you were." Lily started walking again, adding distance between her and her cousin.

She was lying. There was something to talk about, but she certainly didn't want to say it out loud. Even if she was just talking to Hugo, how could she admit that she fancied Scorpius Malfoy?


	4. Kiss Me

**A/N: Sorry for the super long wait, but college basically has me whipped right now. But I will be home for a month over my winter break, so I'll try and make up for it then. I'm super excited about this chapter and I know the title kind of gives it away, but you should read all the way through anyway. Thanks for the follows and favorites and I would love to see more reviews! They make me super happy and motivate me to continue writing!**

**Chapter 4: Kiss Me**

Lily's fourth year wasn't off to a very good start. It was early October and she was sitting by the Black Lake, hopelessly trying to hold back tears. She didn't understand why some people had to be so mean, especially when she tried so hard to hold her own feelings back to seem like she was a much nicer person than she actually was. She had hurried away from dinner, not even wanting to have Hugo's company. She stood up and started skipping rocks, realizing she didn't want to sit still for too long.

That was how Scorpius found her, skipping rocks and wiping her face. Lily thought she heard someone behind her, so she turned around to find him. She quickly turned back to the lake, not wanting her brother's best mate to see her crying.

"Lily are you alright?" Scorpius asked, walking up next to her. "We were supposed to have a Charms session today and you never showed."

"Does it look like I'm alright? I just want to be left alone, Scorpius. I don't even want to talk to Hugo right now." She sat back down near the bank, tired of skipping rocks. Not taking the hint that she wanted him to leave, Scorpius came and sat next to her.

"It's too early in the school year for you to be this upset. Maybe you'll feel better if you tell me about it."

Lily took a shaky breath and began her story. "You know Ruby McLaggen, right? She's a horrid Gryffindor in my year?"

"I've heard of her, yeah," Scorpius answered.

"Well earlier today at breakfast, I was sitting with Isabelle, a girl in my dormitory, and we were talking about the Quidditch match against Gryffindor soon. And I was telling Isabelle that I don't think Ruby is all that good at Quidditch. I mean, she's obviously holding the team back."

Scorpius nodded in agreement. Ruby had all the makings of a good Chaser, but she wasn't good. It was a wonder she made the team that year, especially with James as the captain.

"So anyway, she was right behind me when I said that. She didn't say anything, just glared at me and then walked away. Later on, Hugo came up to me and told me that everyone had been talking about how I've never been kissed. We were on our way to dinner and Ruby walked up to us. She told me, 'Oh Lily, now that the secret's out, I'm sure somebody will pity you enough to kiss you.' I ended up not going to dinner and instead coming here. I'm sorry I didn't show up to study, I just wanted to be alone." They sat in silence for a moment as Lily continued to cry and Scorpius processed the story.

"What Ruby did was terrible, Lily, but you're not the type of person to get upset over a stupid rumor," Scorpius said. He saw Lily's face and instantly regretted what he had said. "Unless the rumor was true. Have you really never been kissed, Lils?"

Lily was silent. She hated Ruby. Not just for humiliating her, but for making it so that the person she fancied had to find out this way. She hated for people to see her cry and now here she was, crying in front of the last person she wanted to see her this way.

"You know, it really isn't that big of a deal. People talk about it like it's so important, but it's not. It's stupid really. And very awkward," Scorpius mused.

"Was Rose your first kiss?" Lily asked, after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah. And she was the only girl I've ever kissed."

"I find that hard to believe. You only dated her for four months." Lily had ended up winning her bet with James, since they lasted less than six months.

"Well believe it or not, but it's the truth. I've only ever kissed Rose Weasley. And it doesn't really bother me to be honest."

Lily looked up at Scorpius. They were sitting closer together now, his arm behind Lily's back. They weren't touching, but the sudden intimacy made her feel strange. She couldn't help but feel that she was a little too comfortable with how close they were sitting. The silence wasn't helping either, so Lily did what she did best: babble.

"You know, I think I do believe you."

"Really? You didn't seem convinced at first."

"No, I really believe you. Why would you lie about it? You have no reason to. I could always ask Al anyway. Guys act like they don't tell each other everything, but they do. They're just like girls. That's what Hugo and I say at least." She paused and looked over at Scorpius, making sure he was still listening.

"And I think you're right about all of that first kiss hype. I don't see the big deal either. So somebody puts their lips on another person's lips. It's something that happens so regularly, why does it have to be such a big deal if it's never happened to you? Society puts so much pressure on everyone growing up so quickly and I don't think that's fair. Why should I need some random guy to kiss me to validate my being a woman? I can be my own woman and I'll survive whether someone kisses me or not. You know, I watched this Muggle movie once, called _Never Been Kissed_ and the main character was in her mid-twenties and nobody had ever kissed her, and she seemed like she was doing just fine. You know what? I'm just going to stop worrying about it. Because if I worry about it, I'm just going to live my life waiting for someone to just walk up to me and kiss me, and that's not realistic. Do you think I'm being stupid?"

Lily looked over at Scorpius again and noticed the very odd grin on his face. She thought she had seen all of his facial expressions, but this was one that she just couldn't decipher.

"No, I don't think you're being stupid. I think you're being cute."

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean by cute."

"Exactly what you think it means. You're being cute. You are cute."

"I'm still confused. It's okay, Scorpius you can tell me if I'm being stupid. Most of the time, I am being stupid. Sometimes I can't tell, so I would appreciate it if you would just be a good friend and…"

Lily finally shut up, because she was interrupted by Scorpius pressing his lips against hers. She wasn't completely sure of what was happening, but she decided maybe she should just go with it. She didn't really know what to do though. Should she close her eyes? She closed her eyes, and decided to just let things happen, even though she was still unsure of what was going on.

After what seemed like a long time, but probably wasn't, Scorpius pulled away.

"You're not being stupid Lils. In fact, you're bloody brilliant. It's perfectly normal to feel that way. But guess what?"

"What?"

"Now you have one less thing to worry about." Scorpius stood up. "I'm going to head back inside. You don't have Charms until Wednesday, right? We can reschedule our tutoring session for tomorrow."

All Lily could do was nod. Scorpius patted her on the head and started to make his way back up to the castle. What just happened? Did Scorpius actually kiss her? What on earth did that mean? It was probably just a pity kiss, but even still all Lily could do was grin. She found another rock and started skipping them again. She couldn't stop smiling. She had just gotten her first kiss from Scorpius Malfoy.

…

Scorpius still wasn't completely sure what led him to kiss Lily. All he knew was that he felt so compelled to that he didn't want to pass up the opportunity. He tried to think of a better reason as he made his way to the dungeons. Up until earlier in the evening, Lily had just been another girl. She was a fourth year Slytherin who was the best Chaser on the Quidditch team. He tutored her in Charms, even though it seemed like she didn't really need much help. He was really only doing it to make Albus happy.

Albus. That's right, he'd almost forgotten. Lily just so happened to be his best mate's little sister. No wonder he felt odd about kissing her. There was definitely some sort of unspoken rule about things like this. He shouldn't have kissed his friend's sister. Al would not take kindly to this. Then again, why would he ever find out about it? It's not as though Lily would tell him. Sure, she would tell Hugo, but why would she tell her older brother about her love life? Was it even a love life, if he was the only person she'd ever kissed? Scorpius wasn't sure how he was feeling, but he was sure he never wanted to be this confused again.

When he finally got to his dormitory, he collapsed on his bed and let out a huge sigh. His sigh was greeted by a loud grunt. Albus seemed to have fallen asleep in the middle of doing homework and was awoken by Scorpius entering the room.

"What's the matter with you?" Albus asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing's the matter with me. Why are you doing homework on your bed when you know you're just going to fall asleep?" Scorpius countered.

"Don't sass me. Why are you sighing loud enough to wake me from my slumber?"

"It's none of your business."

"Is this about a girl?" Scorpius blushed. "Oh, so it is about a girl! Who is it?" Albus jumped up from his bed and ran over to poke Scorpius.

"Would you stop acting like a four year old? How do you know my sigh was girl related?"

"Because you never sigh like that. You know, come to think of it, you never sigh. So it must be about a girl. Who's gone and broken your heart now, Scor?"

"Nobody's gone and broken my heart. I'm just confused, is all."

"What on earth is there to be confused about when it comes to girls? Wait, I take that back, they're bloody complicated."

"It's not that she's complicated, more that what I've done puts me in a very awkward position," Scorpius said, realizing he'd probably revealed too much.

"What could you have possibly done to make it awkward? It's not like you snogged my sister." Scorpius's entire face went red. Albus also turned bright red, but for a different reason. He reached out and began to smack Scorpius repeatedly.

"What the fuck, man? Lily's only fourteen, why would you snog her?"

"It wasn't a snog! And it's not like I had planned to. We just got to talking and she was right there and…"

"Stop! I don't want to hear the details. I can't believe you would do this. You're supposed to be my best friend, which means my baby sister is off limits!"

"Al, Lily's not a baby."

"She might not be a baby, but you're too old for her."

"I feel really bad about this. I wish I could take it back."

"You can't take it back, but you can promise it'll never happen again."

Scorpius was silent for a moment. He had figured Albus would be mad, but him saying something like that seemed completely out of character. At this point, he wasn't sure he could actually promise that. Not wanting to upset his friend any longer, he decided to just let Albus hear what he wanted to hear.

"I promise, it'll never happen again," Scorpius said, a feeling of uneasiness flooding over him.

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish my homework." Albus gathered his things from his bed and quickly left the room. Scorpius sat on his bed silently, even after he was gone.

He couldn't understand why he had to lie to Albus just then. Why wasn't he able to wholeheartedly promise that nothing would ever happen between Lily and him again? Did he fancy Lily? What had changed in the past two hours? Why had he kissed her in the first place?

Scorpius laid back on his bed and thought about it. When had Lily Potter stopped being more than just his friend's little sister? Maybe the idea had always just been in the back of his head and had only come to light recently. When they had been sitting by the lake earlier, as Lily continued to babble on about nothing in particular, all Scorpius could think about was that when her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, it was easier to see her face. Even though her face was streaked with tears, she still somehow managed to look pretty. And it wasn't just that she was pretty. Unlike many of the sixth year girls that clung to Scorpius like velcro, Lily had actual substance underneath her pretty face. She cared about more than looks and could be very witty when she wanted to be. In his eyes, she was perfect and when he realized that, the only logical thing for him to do was to kiss her. He just hadn't thought about the damage he could have done by expressing how he felt about her.

Tutoring. Fuck. He had to see her tomorrow for tutoring. How was he supposed to explain that Albus had found out and that he wasn't happy about it? Should he acknowledge what happened or should he act as though nothing had changed between them? He didn't know what to do, but either way, he was screwed.

…

Hugo was grateful for the fact that he was in Hufflepuff and therefore had such easy access to the kitchens. He was sure that a few cherry almond tarts would cheer Lily up in her dejected state. He stuffed a few in a paper bag and hurried off to the Room of Requirement to meet his cousin for their weekly meeting. The room that met him was almost exactly like the living room at the Burrow. It was nice to have a little piece of home with them at Hogwarts, especially since he and Lily had first bonded there when they were younger. He was the first one there, so he sat on the couch and waited, summoning all the willpower he could to not start eating the tarts before his companion arrived.

Two minutes later, Lily entered the room, looking a bit more chipper than Hugo would have expected to see her. She sidled over to him and immediately took the bag of tarts from him and stuffed one into her mouth.

"I'm so glad you're a Hufflepuff, Hugo. You always bring the best snacks," she said with her mouth full.

"You're in a much better mood than I thought you would be." Hugo didn't know what to make of Lily's happiness after what must have been a terribly shitty day.

"What do you mean? Do you want your favorite cousin to be sad?"

"Well of course not, but I'm just surprised that you're so happy after everything that happened earlier. Ruby did tell the whole school you've never kissed anyone." Even Hugo had had his first kiss before Lily, with a horrid Hufflepuff named Paulina Wilcox. During third year, she had been a bit obsessed with Hugo and when he finally agreed to go to Hogsmeade with her, she was so excited that she kissed him. He hadn't enjoyed it and hadn't kissed anyone since.

"I don't have to worry about that stupid rumor anymore."

"Why not?"

"Do you promise not to tell anyone? Especially our family members?"

"What happened, Lil?"

"Scorpius kissed me."

"Bloody hell, don't mess with me like that," Hugo said, not interested in hearing another of Lily's recurring dreams.

"It wasn't a dream this time, Hugo, I promise! I was sitting by the Black Lake and he came to look for me when I didn't come to the library for our Charms session. Then we got to talking, and the next thing I knew, he was kissing me."

After a moment of silence, Hugo finally decided that she wasn't kidding. Scorpius really had kissed her. He didn't really know how to respond.

"Well say something! You're supposed to be excited for me, Hugo," Lily said, smacking his arm.

"I am excited! That's great news. But what did he mean by it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well you don't just kiss someone for the sake of kissing someone. Do you think he fancies you?"

"I don't know. He told me I was cute, even though I'm still not sure what he meant by it."

"I'm happy for you, Lily. I really am…" Hugo trailed off, afraid of whether or not he should finish his sentence.

"But what? Please don't spare my feelings."

"I'm just afraid that this means more to you than it does to him. He doesn't know you fancy him, and in the moment it probably seemed like kissing you would make you feel better."

"I don't think that's the case. You should have seen the way he looked at me, Hugo. The last time I saw him look at someone that way, he was looking at Rose. This could potentially be something."

Since Lily was too happy to see that Scorpius might not actually fancy her, Hugo decided to let the matter go for the moment and just let what happened happen. It didn't seem like anything would spoil her good mood. They continued to chat as they finished off the rest of the tarts. After another half hour, they decided they should probably head back to their dormitories.

"Thanks for talking with me, Hugo. Most of my day was terrible, but this definitely made it better. And Scorpius kissing me of course," Lily added.

"I'm always here for you Lils," Hugo said as he watched the door to the Room of Requirement disappear. The pair started walking down the corridor. Before they turned the corner, they ran into Scorpius.

"Oh. Hi," Scorpius said, turning a deep shade of red.

"Hi," Hugo and Lily said at the same time.

"Lily, can I talk to you for a minute?" Scorpius asked awkwardly.

"Sure."

"I'll talk to you later, Lily." Hugo rounded the corner and stopped moving, ready to eavesdrop.

"What's up?" he heard Lily ask.

"So about earlier at the lake?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we pretend like it never happened? It was a mistake."

There was a long pause. Hugo was afraid something like this would happen. He just didn't know how Lily would react.

"Yeah, I'm not even sure what you're talking about," Lily said after about five seconds. Hugo could hear the pain in her voice.

"Okay. Also, I'm not sure if tutoring is going to work out tomorrow. I have three rolls of parchment for Potions that I've barely started." Hugo didn't like how Scorpius sounded so casual about all of this.

"Okay. I'll just work on it with Hugo. It's not a big deal." There was another awkward pause.

"So, I guess I'll see you around," Scorpius finally said.

"Yup." Hugo heard Lily's footsteps as she came towards him and rounded the corner herself. She looked like she was about to cry.

**...**

"Are you alright? Do you want to talk about it?" Hugo asked, looking as though he wasn't sure what to do.

"What is there to talk about, Hugo? It's not like I was expecting anything to come of it. I think I'm going to go to bed. Do you want to work on Charms tomorrow?" she asked, trying to put on a brave face.

"Yeah. We can do it after Quidditch if you'd like."

"Fuck. I forgot I had Quidditch practice tomorrow." Lily started to get more upset, realizing she would have to face Scorpius tomorrow after all. "But yeah, after Quidditch sounds fine."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Hugo looked really concerned.

"I'll be fine, Hugo. Don't worry about me. I have to go now."

Lily turned on her heels and walked away quickly, hoping her cousin hadn't seen the tears that had begun to stream down her face. It was crazy how quickly her emotions could change. She went from being happy to sad in only a matter of minutes. The truth was, she had hoped that because Scorpius had kissed her it meant something would happen between them. He called her cute. What could have changed in an hour? She didn't want to look at him again. Why was it that she was so upset? She hadn't realized that she had fancied him so much. She knew she shouldn't be so affected. He was a sixth year after all. Why would a good-looking sixth year like Scorpius date a fourth year anyways? He could have his pick of the girls in his year. Once Lily got to the dungeons, she ran to her dormitory and wished that Scorpius had never kissed her in the first place.


End file.
